29
Oct 2008 - Beijing, China: China’s coal
bill in 2007 reached a total external cost
of 1.7 trillion Yuan ($250bn), equivalent
to 7.1 per cent of China’s gross domestic
product the same year.
These are the findings
of a new report commissioned by Greenpeace,
the Energy Foundation and WWF-China. The
three organizations have urged the Chinese
Government to set up a fairer pricing system
for coal.
The report, The True
Cost of Coal, outlines the external costs
to China of using coal by including the
costs of air and water pollution, ecosystem
degradation, damage to infrastructure, human
injuries and loss of life, and takes into
account the distortion of government regulations.
Chen Dongmei, Director
of Climate Change and Energy Programme WWF
China, said: “Any reform of the coal pricing
system will not only influence the cost
of natural resources and environment but
how we provide services needed for an increasing
population and growing economy within limited
natural resources.”
With each tonne of coal
consumed in 2007 alone, China paid an extra
RMB150 for environmental damage, the report
shows. This figure does not factor in the
costs of the impacts of climate change resulting
from coal combustion, which would make China’s
coal bill significantly higher.
“Environmental and social
damages are underestimated while using coal
in China, as a result of market failures
and weakness in government regulations,”
said economist Mao Yushi, lead author of
the report.
“In order to address
these problems, China needs to count these
external costs and make the coal price reflect
its true costs.”
Chief Representative
of the Energy Foundation Dr. Yang Fuqiang
said: “It makes economic sense for the government
to adjust the coal pricing system to reflect
its true costs.”
The report points out
that, despite a 23 per cent coal price rise
caused by the internalization measures,
the plan would have little impact on China’s
economic growth. On the other hand, it would
increase China’s long-term international
competitiveness.
“Recognizing the true
cost of coal would create incentives to
developing cleaner, sustainable energy sources,”
said Yang Ailun, Climate and Energy Campaign
Manager of Greenpeace China.
The True Cost of Coal
report was written by experts from the Unirule
Institute of Economics, the Energy Research
Institute of the National Development and
Reform Commission, Renmin University of
China, the Academy of Social Sciences of
Shanxi, the School of Public Health at Peking
University and the National Centre for Disease
Control and Prevention.
+ More
Forest boost as poaching
boss gets jail
27 Oct 2008 - Mundemba,
Cameroon: A five-year jail sentence for
a notorious elephant poacher could provide
a lifeline for wildlife in and around an
African rainforest that survived the Ice
Age.
The recent court judgement
was passed in Mundemba, the nearest town
to Africa’s oldest and most diverse rainforest,
the Korup National Park in south-west Cameroon.
The case arose after
security agents raided the hideout of poacher
Akah Job who was found to have killed eight
elephants.
Security agents are
also on the trail of an accomplice who allegedly
supplies arms and ammunition from the city
of Kumba, some 80 kilometres away.
“We welcome this new
verdict and hope it will deter other poachers
and their accomplices from decimating wildlife
and above all protect rare and vital species
from extinction for the benefit of the people
around Korup National Park and mankind as
a whole,” said Dr Martin Tchamba, Technical
Manager, WWF-Cameroon.
“WWF works in safeguarding
key species in Cameroon through supporting
anti-poaching drives, and promoting the
implementation of wildlife legislation is
yielding fruits within key biodiversity
hotspots in the country.”
Acting from a tip-off,
game guards of the Cameroon Ministry of
Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) based in
the small town of Mundemba, supported by
security officials from the gendarmerie,
found Akah in possession of nine elephant
tusks weighing about 8kg, elephant meat
worth about 15kg, and eight elephant tails.
Two days of trekking
to the remote village of Esukutan paid off
as the poacher, whom villagers described
as “daring”, was whisked off for trial.
Other seizures included guns, cartridges
and wire snares.
Established in 1986,
Korup National Park covers an area of 1,260
km². It is proclaimed to be the single
richest lowland site in Africa for plants,
birds (more than 400 species), herpetofauna
(82 reptiles and 92 amphibians) and butterflies
(around 1,000 species). There are in addition
130 different species of fish and more than
160 mammals. Many of them are endangered
and some are found nowhere else on earth.
One reason for its importance
is that it is in an area which remained
rain forest throughout the drying-out periods
during the Ice Age when icecap advance caused
severe global cooling which caused much
tropical rainforest to be replaced by semi-xerophytic
scrub or savannah.
This park is also known
for the fact that it contains the largest
number of species of trees in any rainforest
in Africa. The area receives a large amount
of rainfall and a relatively low amount
of sunshine. These factors, combined with
poor accessibility, have allowed the natural
rainforests to flourish in the area.
+ More
First REACH hazardous chemicals list is
a drop in the ocean
29 Oct 2008 - The groups
welcome the publication of the REACH ‘candidate
list’ and recognise it as a vital tool in
speeding up the substitution of hazardous
chemicals with safer alternatives. But the
organisations say that member states and
the European Commission have failed to make
the list more comprehensive.
European consumers will
be able to walk into a shop, pick up any
product off the shelf, from a toothbrush
to a laptop, and be informed within 45 days
on whether it contains any of the chemicals
on the candidate list. But hundreds more
substances will continue to be used despite
their well-documented harmful qualities.
Restrictions on phthalates
(DINP, DiDP and DNOP) similar to those now
on the candidate list already exist under
the EU Toys directive, but so far no member
state has suggested these substances be
included in the REACH list. Bisphenol-A,
a well-known endocrine disrupter, has also
been left out of the list.
Only six EU member states
(Austria, Germany, France, the Netherlands,
Sweden, the UK) and Norway have so far put
forward chemicals for the candidate list.
The coalition of public interest groups
call on member states and the Commission
to expand the list to make it more representative
of the hundreds of hazardous chemicals that
are currently known.
Among the 15 chemicals
that are on the list, brominated flame retardant
HBCDD is a common environmental contaminant
used in plastics, textiles, electronic goods
and three plastic softeners (the phthalates
DEHP, DBP and BBP). These plastic softeners
are suspected to seriously affect human
fertility and are present in glues, inks,
cosmetics and toiletries, and in many products
made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The groups urge ECHA
to adopt strict regulatory controls on these
chemicals immediately. Many progressive
companies have already started to phase
them out, including major players in the
electronics sector that have eliminated
the uses of brominated flame retardants
and PVC.
Notes to the editor:
(1) The REACH (Registration, Evaluation,
Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)
regulation became operational in June 2008.
(2) For a sample letter to request information
about a product, see p.9 of: http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/eu-unit/press-centre/reports/your-voice-on-reach.pdf.
(3) The 267 hazardous chemicals selected
by ChemSec for the REACH SIN (Substitute-it-now)
List 1.0 include substances of very high
concern and provide a useful starting point
to make the REACH Candidate List more comprehensive.
See: www.sinlist.org.
Dr Ninja Reineke – Chemicals senior policy
officer for WWF European Policy Office
